Ukraine prepares for the presidential election

(VOVworld) – The largest Ukrainian parties held congresses on Saturday in Kiev to name their candidates for the early Ukrainian presidential elections planned for May 25.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, delivers her speech, during the Fatherland party congress in Kiev on March 29, 2014 (Photo: AP)

The congress of the Udar party nominated billionaire Poroshenko as a candidate. Meanwhile, the party’s leader Vitaly Klitschko said that he will not run for the presidential election but for the position of the Mayor of Ukraine’s capital city of Kiev. The Party of Regions voted to expel Yanukovych, along with several other senior officials linked with the now-deposed government. The party nominated Mikhail Dobkin, formerly the governor of the heavily Russian-speaking Kharkiv province, as its candidate for president. Meanwhile, the Fatherland Party appointed Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Timoshenko as a presidential candidate. Speakiong at the congress, Timoshenko said it is time to work out clear material demand to Russia following its Crimea merging. She added Ukraine must become a full member of the European Union and integrate with the Europe’s defense security system. The Freedom Party named its leader Olech Tyahnybok as a candidate for the presidential election.